happiness!

i am sitting here with a little fuzzy kitty snuggled next to me and a hot cup of coffee in my hand.

i went to the gym today for the first time in a year and a half.

i have 4 vacation days left.

and i woke up this morning to the boy telling me he loves me.

life is good. :)

wow. it's almost the end of 2006.

when i think of everything that i've done (and that's happened to me) over the last 12 months, my mind absolutely boggles.

work-wise, i switched jobs twice... had 4 bosses... helped launch 3 major products for my company... traveled all over the country... won a number of awards... and gained 10 pounds. (i put that under the "work" category because the weight comes from an abundance of free food at the office, and no exercise due to long hours.)

personally, i had a brief relationship in the spring... saw 3 friends move to europe... went to my first NASCAR weekend... became an internationally-ranked pinball player... discovered salsa dancing AND pole dancing... became addicted to roller derby... discovered sex dwarf... bought my first house... lost my uncle, a good friend, and 2 other people in my life... met and fell for the boy... traveled to paris and the netherlands... and made some of the best friends i've ever had in my life.

whoa. all in one year. of all of that, the most significant for me was losing people i care about... it's shown me more than ever how important it is to live your life to the fullest. AND, to tell people that you care about them, instead of waiting to say something nice at their funeral. people need to hear how special they are, dammit. so i'm starting a very simple meme: say nice things to people on your friend's list.

( here ya go, guys... in no particular order... )